What did Jesus say about Spiritual Self-Sufficiency?

¹⁴ “To the angel of the assembly in Laodicea write: “The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of God’s creation, says these things:

¹⁵ “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot.

¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth.

¹⁷ Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing,’ and don’t know that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind, and naked;

¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.

¹⁹ As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent.

²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me.

²¹ He who overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

²² He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.”

¹ “And to the angel of the assembly in Sardis write: “He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars says these things: “I know your works, that you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

² Wake up and strengthen the things that remain, which you were about to throw away, for I have found no works of yours perfected before my God.

³ Remember therefore how you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If therefore you won’t watch, I will come as a thief, and you won’t know what hour I will come upon you.

⁴ Nevertheless you have a few names in Sardis that didn’t defile their garments. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.

⁵ He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

⁶ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.

³¹ “If I testify about myself, my witness is not valid.

³² It is another who testifies about me. I know that the testimony which he testifies about me is true.

³³ You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.

³⁴ But the testimony which I receive is not from man. However, I say these things that you may be saved.

³⁵ He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

³⁶ But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father gave me to accomplish, the very works that I do, testify about me, that the Father has sent me.

³⁷ The Father himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form.

³⁸ You don’t have his word living in you, because you don’t believe him whom he sent.

³⁹ “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me.

⁴⁰ Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life.

¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.

² Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

³ You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

⁴ Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.

⁵ I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

⁶ If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

⁷ If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.

⁸ “In this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples.

²⁴ “Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in and will not be able.

²⁵ When once the master of the house has risen up and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ then he will answer and tell you, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

²⁶ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’

²⁷ He will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.’

²⁸ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in God’s Kingdom, and yourselves being thrown outside.

²⁹ They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in God’s Kingdom.

³⁰ Behold, there are some who are last who will be first, and there are some who are first who will be last.”

²⁰ “Blessed are you who are poor, for God’s Kingdom is yours.

²¹ Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

²² Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude and mock you, and throw out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.

²³ Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for their fathers did the same thing to the prophets.

²⁴ “But woe to you who are rich! For you have received your consolation.

²⁵ Woe to you, you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

²⁶ Woe, when men speak well of you, for their fathers did the same thing to the false prophets.

⁴² “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the right times?

⁴³ Blessed is that servant whom his lord will find doing so when he comes.

⁴⁴ Truly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has.

⁴⁵ But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My lord delays his coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink and to be drunken,

⁴⁶ then the lord of that servant will come in a day when he isn’t expecting him and in an hour that he doesn’t know, and will cut him in two, and place his portion with the unfaithful.

⁴⁷ That servant who knew his lord’s will, and didn’t prepare nor do what he wanted, will be beaten with many stripes,

⁴⁸ but he who didn’t know, and did things worthy of stripes, will be beaten with few stripes. To whomever much is given, of him will much be required; and to whom much was entrusted, of him more will be asked.

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵ Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

¹⁰ Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

¹² Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

³ “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.”

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Narration or other speakers' words are omitted to show Jesus' words. Read in context for the full passage.

⁵ “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and Spirit, he can’t enter into God’s Kingdom.

⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

⁷ Don’t marvel that I said to you, ‘You must all be born anew.’

⁸ The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don’t know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

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Narration or other speakers' words are omitted to show Jesus' words. Read in context for the full passage.

¹⁰ “Are you the teacher of Israel, and don’t understand these things?

¹¹ Most certainly I tell you, we speak that which we know and testify of that which we have seen, and you don’t receive our witness.

¹² If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

¹³ No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.

¹⁴ As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

¹⁵ that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only born Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

¹⁷ For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.

¹⁸ He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only born Son of God.

¹⁹ This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil.

²⁰ For everyone who does evil hates the light and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed.

²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God.”